Bumping block or post for railways.



J. M. WAUGH. BUMPING BLOCK 0R POST FOR RAILWAYS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6, 1912.

Patented July 21, 1914.

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J. M. WAUGH.

BUMPING BLOCK 0R ros'r FOR RAILWAYS.

APPLICATION FILED EDT. 6, 1912.

1,104,332. Patented July 21, 1914.

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J. M. WAUGH.

BUMPING BLOCK 0R POST FOR RAILWAYS.

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. s, 1912.

1,104,332 Patented July 21, 19-14.

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IBUlVIlING BLOCK OR "POST FOB RAILWAYS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 21, 1914.

Application filed September 6, 1912. Serial No. 718,793.

To all whom it may concern:-

Be it known that 1, JAMES- MILTON WAUGH, a citizen ofthe United States, and

a resident of the 'cityof Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bumping Blocks or Posts for Railways; and I 'do hereby'declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsyand tothe numbers of reference marked-thereon, which form a part of this specification. f

It has become common railway practice for all track or switch ends to be equipped with bumping posts or blocks to prevent the rolling stock from running over the track ends. Such bumping posts have assumed many different forms, and in some instances a spring-buffing gear is positioned thereon to be struck by the drawhead of the car to assist the buffing gear of the car in absorbing the shock of impact. In some instances, the rail ends of the track are bent upwardly and bolted together at the rearof the bumping posts to tie the same to the track rails. As heretofore constructed, said bumping posts,

' even when equipped with a bufiing gear, frequently cause Every serious damage to the cars, sometimes wrecking the end of the car absorbing the stresses occasioned, by the impact of the car thereagainst. Such stresses are frequently very great and the demolition of at least'the draft gear on the car is almost certain to occur where such bumping posts are used. As heretofore constructed,

if any buffing gear at all is used on the post, such gears have utilized coiled springs to a greater or less extent and the recoil or rebound of such springs after each impact is a serious occasion for damage. Of course, the failure of the draft and buffing gear on the car is almost invariably accompanied by more or less injury to the car end.

The object of this invention is to provide a bumping post or block so constructed asto surely arrest the movement of the car before derailment, and also equipped with a buffing gear whereby the stress of impact is received in alinement with the center sills of the car, and absorbed frictionally, eliminating violent recoil.

. It is also an ob ect of the invention to afforda construction in which a plurality of bulhng gears are arranged side by side to receive the shock of impact, one of the same being arranged centrally for engagement by the'drawhead, and others disposed laterally to engage the end sill of the car in alinement with the center sills, said laterally disposed butting gears being so constructed as to absorb the stress of impact before the limit of capacity of the bufhng gear of the car is reached, thereby eliminating the danger of injury to the draft gear.

It is also an object of the invention to mount a plurality of bufling gears side by side upon an exceedingly rigid bumping post to distribute the shock of impact directly to 'the'center sills of the car.

The invention (in a preferred form) is illustrated in the drawings, and hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation ofa device embodying my invention, and showing the car diagrammatically.

. Fig.2 is a top plan view thereof. Fig.3 is

an enlarged top plan View with the concrete foundation and body shown in dotted lines. Fig. 4 is a side elevation thereof.

;Fig. 5 is a frontelevation thereof. Fig. 6 y is an enlarged, horizontal section taken through the lateral buffing gears, the central bufling gear being shown in dotted lines. As shown in the drawings: 1, indicates the concrete base and bodyof the post.

. Mounted thereon are three buffing gear casings of cast metal, comprising the laterally disposed draft casings 2, and the centrally disposed draft casing 8, which connects and lies below the same.

Said three draft casings are integral and' are open at their front or buffing ends and each comprises a horizontally disposed draft gear casing open at the frontend, and in which are secured groups of flat spring steel plates 4, any desired number of which may be used in forming a group, and which fill said pockets for substantially the full extent thereof. At

the inner end of each of said bevel gear thereof, and disposed between adjacent.

groups, are double concave and double convex spacing members 6 and 7, against which said groups of springs bear alternately at their middles and at their ends. Inserted in the otherwise open end of each of said casings is a bevel head 8, which is rounded or convex on its inner face to correspond with the convexity of the block 5, and integrally connected therewith is an outwardly extending strong broad web 9, of metal, which projects beyond the ends of said casing, as shown in Fig. 6. Said groups of springs are secured in said casing under considerable pressure, and to this end the bevel heads 8, are forced inwardly to slightly compres the spring groups in the respective pockets, and a bar plate 10, is bolted over the web or stem 9, of the buffer blocks, and is bolted to the end of the casing, thereby limiting the outward travel of the buffer heads on recoil.

Adjustably secured on. the webs or stems 9, of the buiiing blocks, is a. butling beam 11. This is shown as recessed near itsends and on its rear side to receive the stems 9, thereon, as shown in Fig. 6, to impart shock of impact to the butling spring, and is concaved centrally and horizontally on its front side to receive the rounded platform ends of a passenger car therein, if desired. From a point nearly coincident with the inner edge of the webs or stems 9, said buffing bar or beam 11, is flattened to the ends to receive the impact of the end sills of the car, said flattened portions being disposed to be engaged by the end sills at points opposite the ends of the center sills of the car.

The central buffing gear casing 8, is preferably castor constructed integrally with the gear casings 2, before described, and lies sufficiently below the same to be in alinement with the draft and bui'iing gear of the car, as shown in Fig. 1. Said casing is relatively short and is provided at its inner end with the convex filler block 12, against which the first group of springs shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, abuts at its middle, and arranged alternately between succeeding groups aredouble concave and double convex filling or spacing blocks 13 and 14- respectively, which separate said. groups so that the groups bear successively thereon at their ends and at points intermediate their ends. The butting block 15, is convex on its inner side, and bears against the outer group of springs, and is provided with an integral head or butting stem 16, which projects through an aperture in the casing plate 17, which is bolted on the otherwise open end of said casing and is so disposed as to hold the butting head 15, inwardly sufficiently to slightly tension the groups of springs at all times. Said buiiing gear casings are mount ed upon said foundation post or block 1, of concrete, which is molded thereto, and a T rail stirrup is constructed by suitably bending a rail for example, a sixty foot railway rail) so that when the ends thereof are spliced to the ends of the track rails, as shown in Fig. 1, a horizontal portion 18, at said ends continues said track rails onto said concrete foundation to which the same is secured by the bolts 19, and clamping bar :20, and thence inclines upwardly as indicated at 21, and extends around said casings 2, fitting closely thereto, as shown in Figs. 1 to 41- inclusive, and rigidly holding said casings in place. As shown, bolts 23, engage through each end of the clampin bar at, which extends transversely said casings approximately over the front end of the intermediate casing 3, and are bedded in said concrete, and if desired, provided at the lower ends with nuts 25, accessible through a recess in said concrete foundation, where the same may be set up. Each of said casings is provided integrally therewith on the rear end thereof, with downwardly directed brackets 26 and 27, which are directed downwardly at an angle of approximately forty five degrees, and are adapted to receive therebetween 1 beam brace bars 28 and 29, which are rigidly bolted or riveted therein, and which at their lower ends engage in complemental brackets 30 and 31, constructed integrally on a relatively broad foot plate 32, engaged on the foundation, and which is rigidly tied to the front of the foundation or post by means of tie rods or bolts 33, which extend through angle bars 34, which engage against the front of the foundation or post and over the inclined rails 21, and extend through apertured lugs 35, extending outwardly from each end of said foot or base plate 32."

When assembled, concrete is molded in desired thickness upon the back of the post, covering the brace bars 28 and 29, and filling the spaces therebetween, and. bonding upon the metal structure described, affords a reinforced concrete construction of enormous strength.

The operation is as follows: ln passenger cars, the drawhead extends but very slightly beyond the end sill or platform, and in consequence in many instances the drawhead may not engage the central buffer head 16, at all. Instead, the bufier plate first engages against the buffer rail or beam 11, the buffer plates are pressed back fiat against the end sill, and the entire impact is absorbed by the laterally disposed buffing gears which engage said end s1lls point blank in ahncment with the center sills of the car. The buffer :beam is driven inwardly, the "shy compressing thefiat friction springs in the laterally disposed butling casings, the resistance of said springs and absorbing power due to the frictional bearing of the successive plates one upon another, rapidly augmenting with the movement, until. the stress is absorbed, and damage obviated.

With other than passenger cars, the drawhcad projects beyond the end sill and enengages the buffing beam 11.

gages the buffing stem .or head 16, as shown sorb the stress of impact before the end sillj beam 11, having sill, all the bufiingmechanism, that on said end of thecar, action to absorb the stress of impact. Inasmuch, however, asthe central buffing gear on the bumping postand the bufiing gear OIlg the car afford somewhat longer travel in;

The buffing: been engaged by the end} including. are brought into:

compression than the lateral bumping gears? on the post, it follows that the buffing gear; on the car can never be driven solid to affect; the shearing of the supporting bolts or;

rivets. Instead, the maximum stress is taken and absorbedby the lateral buffing gears on the post, which, as before described, brings all the stresses into alinement withthe center sills of the car and absorbs the same.

In a construction such as described, the individual spring plates of the various groups lying flat face to face, afford large frictional cont-act surfaces and in conse quence the absorption of the stresses.

through friction increases enormously with the compression, and owing to the positive frictional engagement face to face ofsaid plates, and the large number of groups, re-

casioned when buffing gears of other constructions are used on the bumping post, the gears gently move back to normal and Without possibility of injuring the rolling stock.

Of course, details of construction may be varied dependent upon the service requlred, and the number of groups of springs, and the number of springs in the groups in the re necessitated by the-prior art.

I claim as my invent-ion:

1. A bumping post and resilient bufiing gears secured thereon and positioned to en gage the extremity of the car in alinement with the center sills of the car.

2. A bumping post embracing a base or foundation and a plurality of spring bumping or bufling gears rigidly secured thereon side by side in position to engage theend sill of the car in alinement with the center sills thereof and to engage the drawhead of the car approximately simultaneously therewith;

In a device of the class described a plurality of rigidly connected parallel casings arranged horizontally substantially at the level of the end sill of acar and in alinement with the draw head thereof respectively, resilient friction members arcoil is almost wholly absorbed and instead of the violent and destructive rebound and "thexbufling sorbing impacts.

ranged in groups in'each casing, andbufling heads engaged 1n .the respective casings and bearing against the outermost of said groups and adapted to be respectively engaged by the end sill offthe car and in alinement with the center sills and by the drawhead of the car, thereby utilizing said bumping gears gear simultaneously in abl. A bumping post of reinforced concrete, a central bufling gear rigidly secured thereon in position to be engaged by the drawhead of the car, laterally disposed bumping gears rigidly secured on said bumping post above the same, and a transverse beam carried on theouterends thereof, and adapted to receive theIimpact'of the end sill of the car substantially in alinement with the center sills whereby stresses of impact are absorbed in said-bumping gears in'the under frame of the car and in the buffing gear of the car, all acting simultaneously to receive the same. i

5. In a bumping post a rigid post, and

resilient b-umplng gears of highv capacity rigidly secured thereon in position to impact the end sill of a car in alinement with the center sills thereof.

6.. In a device of the class described a rigid bumping post, a-resilient bumping gear rigidly secured thereon on each side the center in alinement with the center sills of a car to be stopped thereby, andembracing friction spring mechanism of high absorbing capacity, an intermediate bumping gear of less stress absorbing capacity secured on said post in positionto be engaged by the drawhead of the car approximately simultaneously withthe engagement thereof by the main bumping gears, and downwardly and rearwardly inclined brace bars rigidly secured to each of said bumping gears and rigidly anchored in the foundation and acting to .deliver the stress of the impact to the ground.

7. In adevice-of the class described a bumping post, a plurality of resilient bumping gears secured thereon side by side in position to be imp-acted by the end sills of the car in alinement with the center sills thereof and by the drawhead of the car respectively, brace bars extending obliquely downwardly and rearwardly from the respective bumping gear rigidly anchored in the foundation, a track rail bent centrally to afford a stirrup to engage around the rear ends of said bumping gears at its middlepart, and to incline thence downwardly and forwardly to the track, and with the ends thereof connected with the track rails, and tie bars engaging around the front of said posts and over said rails, and rigidlyconnected with the lower ends of the brace bars to tie the same together. I

I 8. In a device of the class described a bump- &

mg gear casing embracing relatively long cast metal casings, an intermediate and relatively short casing integrally connected therewith and lying below the same, a succession of groups of spring plates arranged in all of said casings to bear successively at their middles and at their ends upon the casings and each other, bufiing stems orheads engaged in the open ends thereof to tension said spring groups and in alinement respectively with the center sills of the car to be stopped and with the drawhead thereof, and a beam connecting the bumping stems in the upper and laterally disposed casings and F adapted to afford a broad bearing for engagement by the end sill of the car.

9. In a device of the class described spring friction bumping gears adapted respectively to engage the car end in alinement with the center sills and to engage the drawhead, and acting to absorb the stress of impact and also recoil.

10. In a device of the class described three bumping gears rigidly supported to act in alinement with the center sills of the car and the drawhead thereof, those acting in alinement with the center sills having high capacity, those acting in alinement with the drawhead having together with the normal bufling gear of the car, substantially the same capacity for absorbing stresses as the laterally disposed bufling gears.

11. In a device of the class described embracing a rigid base, bumping gears secured thereon one above the other, one in alinement with the draft gear of a car, the other in alinement with the platform and acting simultaneously by engagement thereof with the drawhead and the platform end to absorb the buffing stresses of the car to be stopped.

12. A non-recoiling bumping block comprising a plurality of draft gears, one of said gears adapted to be contacted by a drawhead of a car, and the other of said gears connected to one another and adapted to be contacted by the end sill of a car independently of said first mentioned gear.

13. A bumping block adapted to receive the shock of the car without recoil, a track rail forming a part of the track bent around and forming a part of said block, rear wardlydirected members connected to said track rail to resist the impact of a car, tie rods connecting said members and said track rail, buffing gears mounted on said block adapted to be contacted by a car, and concrete molded in and, around said members to maintain the same in immovable relation.

14.. A shock absorber bumper friction plates block adapted to be contacted and actuated by the end sills of a car.

15. In a bumping block of the class described shock absorbing means composed of spring friction plates one set adapted to receive the impact from a drawbar, and the others to receive the impact from the end sills independently of said first set.

16. In a device of the class described a plurality of friction plate draft gears, connections between certain thereof to receive the shock from the car end sills, and an independently operable gear arranged below said connected gears to receive the impact of the drawhead of the cars.

17. In a device of the class described a plurality of independently operable draft gears, one adapted to be operated by the drawbar and the other by the end sill of a car.

18. In a device of the class described a plurality of draft gears, one actuable by the drawbar of a car, and. an equalizing bar conne-cting the others adapted to be actuated by the end sill of a car.

19. In a bumping block, shock absorbing means actuable by the drawbar of a car, shock absorbing means actuable by the end sill of a car, each of said means operable ir respective of the operation of the other.

20. In a device of the class described a plurality of independently actuable draft gears arranged one above the other adapted to be actuated by the drawbar and end sills of a car respectively.

21. In a device of the class described a plurality of buffing gears acting independently of one another, a support therefor comprising a foundation of concrete, a retaining stirrup placed therearound and formed from one of the track rails, rearwardly directed members adapted to resist impact, and tie rods connecting said rearwardly directed members and said track rail stirrup and said buffing gears.

22. In a device of the class described a foundation of concrete, the extremities of railroad rails bent therearound to secure the foundation to the track, rearwardly directed inclined members adapted to anchor the same against impact, and a plurality of buffing gears adapted to contact different portions of the end of a car and act independently of one another.

23. A bumping block comprising a plurality of draft gears mounted thereon, and a reinforced concrete foundation therefor, the reinforcing members of which are integral with the track rails of a railroad track.

24:. In a device of the class described a foundation of concrete, the end rails of a railroad track embedded therein, rearwardly downwardly directed steel reinforcing members, tie rods connecting said railroad rails and said reinforcing members, and a plurality of bufiing gears mounted thereon.

25. In a device of the class described shock absorbing means adapted to contact the end sill of a car, independent shock absubscribed my name in the presence of tWo sorbing means adapted to contact a drawsubscrlbing Witnesses. bar of a car, and means adapted to connect said first mentioned means permitting dif- JAMES MILTON WAUGHT 5 ferential thereof When the impact is not ap- Witnesses:

plied centrally. CHARLES W. HILLS, J12, In testimony whereof I have hereunto GEORGE R. MOORE,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 0 Iatents, Washington, I). G. 

